Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that at the upcoming EU summit she will nominate a European candidate who can mediate in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
She reported this during a briefing after the G7 summit.
Meloni added that it should be a representative of a "medium-sized country," not one of the largest EU states.
The next EU summit will be held on June 18-19. They will discuss Ukrainian European integration and sanctions against Russia.
The search for a negotiator from Europe
In January, Politico, citing sources, reported that EU members wanted to appoint a negotiator with Putin on Ukraine, because Washington could make a secret deal with Moscow without taking into account Europeʼs position. Back then, Alexander Stubb was considered a potential candidate for this role.
Later, on May 9, Putin stated that the best candidate for the role of negotiator with Russia on behalf of the European Union would be former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who held the position from 1998 to 2005.
Soon, the head of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas stated that Schroeder had no right to represent Europeʼs interests in the negotiations because he promoted the interests of Russian state-owned companies.
Later, the list of possible negotiators was expanded to include former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
In turn, President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that the United Kingdom, France, and Germany could act as negotiators for Europe in talks with Russia.
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